Google’s patent for autonomous driving: the body becomes “soft” when it hits someone

According to the American science and technology news website TheVerge, Waymo has applied for a design patent for a self-driving car. This patent is not used to prevent pedestrians from hitting people, but minimizes injuries caused by the impact.

According to reports, in the design of self-driving car bodies, Waymo proposed a so-called "pressure film" technology, which may be composed of cables, springs and other components, which will allow the car's body to automatically adjust Stiffness.

If the car's sensor detects that a self-driving car is about to collide with a pedestrian or cyclist, the self-driving vehicle can immediately adjust the stiffness of the pressure membrane to make the car shell more "soft", which can reduce the impact of the impact.

Of course, if the sensor finds that the object to be hit is an ordinary car, the pressure membrane will still maintain its traditional rigidity and ensure the safety of the people on the vehicle when the impact occurs.

Waymo stated in the patent application document that, for example, a cyclist will hit the front-end position of a self-driving car. At this time, the system will adjust the pressure membrane system at the front position to reduce the stiffness indicated by this position.

In other words, the future self-driving cars not only have extremely high IQ, but also have a flexible body that can become more “soft” before a car accident and avoid further casualties.